Fall 2014 Class Descriptions

This course is designed for upperclass law students who intend to practice law in California and therefore may wish to learn more about California civil procedure. The course will focus on the important caselaw doctrines, statutory rules, and policies which define civil litigation in the California courts with particular attention to those areas of California civil procedure that are unique when compared to federal and to other states' procedural laws. The topics covered will include considerations before undertaking representation; statutes of limitations and related doctrines; California conflicts of law doctrine; jurisdiction, venue, forum non conveniens, and service of process; prejudgment attachment and other provisional remedies; claim and issue preclusion; pleadings and motions; joinder of parties and claims, new party cross-complaints, equitable indemnity, and good faith settlements; the California Civil Discovery Act; summary judgments, default judgments, involuntary dismissals for failure to prosecute, the “fast track” system, and judicial and contractual arbitration; right to jury trial, trial procedures, and post-trial motions; judgments, enforcement of judgments, and setting aside judgments; and appeals, extraordinary appellate writs, and administrative mandamus. The course will also provide students with a brief summary of the federal or general position on each major topic covered as a basis of comparison and as a review of basic civil procedure. Third year full-time and fourth year part-time students have registration priority for this class.

Working under the supervision of attorneys from the San Diego County Public Defender’s Juvenile Unit, interns advocate on behalf of delinquent youth in order to ensure the youth receive appropriate educational, mental health, physical health, and other services they need while they are under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court. Interns review comprehensive case files of youth to identify areas of need and then advocate on the youth’s behalf with regard to issues such as school discipline, special education services, school placement, mental health assessments and services, and health care needs, in order to protect the youth’s rights and interests. Delinquency Clinic students must commit 20 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. It is recommended that students first take Child Rights and Remedies and Education and Disability Clinic. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied towards the three required clinic credits for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Working under the supervision of attorneys from the San Diego County Public Defender’s Juvenile Unit, interns advocate on behalf of delinquent youth in order to ensure the youth receive appropriate educational, mental health, physical health, and other services they need while they are under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court. Interns review comprehensive case files of youth to identify areas of need and then advocate on the youth’s behalf with regard to issues such as school discipline, special education services, school placement, mental health assessments and services, and health care needs, in order to protect the youth’s rights and interests. Delinquency Clinic students must commit 20 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. It is recommended that students first take Child Rights and Remedies and Education and Disability Clinic. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied towards the three required clinic credits for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students work with assigned attorneys from the Dependency Legal Group of San Diego, representing abused and neglected children in dependency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing child clients; presenting evidence during bench trials; preparing briefs and memoranda; participating in settlement conferences; conducting field work with investigators; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Dependency Clinic students must commit 16 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied towards the three required clinic credits for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students work with assigned attorneys from the Dependency Legal Group of San Diego, representing abused and neglected children in dependency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing child clients; presenting evidence during bench trials; preparing briefs and memoranda; participating in settlement conferences; conducting field work with investigators; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Dependency Clinic students must commit 16 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied towards the three required clinic credits for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students work with CAI professional staff on legislative and regulatory policy advocacy projects, impact litigation, public education projects, and/or policy research and analysis of current applications of law and regulations as they affect children. Policy Clinic students are also able to serve as Educational Representatives for at-risk youth and/or assist CAI’s Homeless Youth Outreach Project. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied towards the three required clinic credits for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

This is a broad course covering the basic substantive and procedural law relevant to advocacy on behalf of children. The course is taught with a combination of lecture and Socratic dialogue. It surveys the following subject areas: the rights of children, criminal prosecution of children, child abuse and protection, child tort recovery, child rights to property and support, child-related political rights and liberties, and child entitlements (including public welfare, health, nutrition, care, education, and special populations). The course includes discussion of the alternative methods of child advocacy, class action practice, writs of mandamus, administrative practice, and local government advocacy.

Note: This is a required course for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students interview, counsel and represent clients at Superior Court or in administrative hearings in a wide variety of cases under the supervision of an attorney. Students draft pleadings and correspondence, as well as confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence and either Practicum or Trial Advocacy. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Students interview, counsel and represent clients at Superior Court or in administrative hearings in a wide variety of cases under the supervision of an attorney. Students draft pleadings and correspondence, as well as confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence and either Practicum or Trial Advocacy. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Civil Procedure (Staff)LWAA510

4 credit(s), Standard Letter Graded

Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.

Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.

This seminar will study closely several systems of accepted knowledge about how our government regulates or should regulate race relations during this Post-Civil Rights Era. These racial paradigms provide the subtext of public and, to a lesser extent, private institutional decision making, and are often debated within the pages of Supreme Court cases. While references will be made to Supreme Court cases and to specific justices, the seminar will focus on primary sources; in other words, the texts that generate fundamental civil rights theories. The readings will be interdisciplinary (drawing on legal, sociological, economic, psychological, historical, and political themes) and will stress the importance of contextualization. A conceptual scheme will be offered to help students understand, organize, and analyze civil rights theories; but students will be asked to develop their own well-informed views about the theories. Students will be evaluated on the basis of a paper plus weekly oral and written classroom presentations. Class attendance is essential.

Note: Students admitted to the seminar who are not in attendance the first day of class and who do complete the assignment for the first day of class may forfeit their place in class.

3 credit(s), Standard Letter GradedRequirement(s): WritingConcentration(s): Environmental and Energy Law (MSLS), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMC), Environmental and Energy Law (JD)

This course explores the most significant law and policy issues related to climate change. In the first part of the course, students will gain familiarity with the science of climate change as well as climate change law at the international and national levels. The second part of the course focuses on climate change litigation, with close study of the various legal theories used by litigants attempting to force the government to take stronger regulatory action. The third part of the course concentrates on initiatives at the state and regional level with an emphasis on California climate change policy.

Note: Either this course or Energy Law & Policy must be taken as a required course for the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration (JD).

In this course the non-tax aspects of estate planning are integrated, combining wills, trusts, future interests, and community property. Methods of family wealth transfer in both community property and non-community property jurisdictions are considered, including: inter vivos gifts, wills, trusts, intestate succession and will substitutes. Fiduciary administration; class gifts; powers of appointment; the rule against perpetuities; charitable trusts; classification, control and management of community property; and the distribution of property on dissolution of the community are studied.

2 credit(s), Standard Letter GradedConcentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (LLMC), International Law (JD), International Law (MSLS)

Most courses in law school are about U.S. law. This course is different as it focuses on foreign law. Obviously, foreign law matters to all U.S. lawyers operating on the international scene, for example in international business or in international arbitration. And just as evidently, foreign law is very important within national law. Indeed, a huge quantity of legal situations in the U.S. involve foreign law (whether it be a contract entered into in New York governed by German law or a deceased person from San Francisco bequeathing real estate in France or the victims of a massive chemical explosion in India suing in U.S. courts). More controversially, there are those (including a number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices) who claim that, in an age of globalization when the U.S. is more interconnected with the rest of the world than ever before, U.S. law ought to derive inspiration from foreign law, for instance in constitutional litigation involving the death penalty or the rights of sexual minorities. This course will apply itself to this debate and discuss to what extent foreign law can or must act as persuasive authority. It will also consider two primordial questions. First, how could a U.S. lawyer get to know foreign law despite all the cultural differences arising across laws? Secondly, to what extent is meaningful understanding of foreign law possible? As regards these issues, various theoretical topics will be raised from an interdisciplinary perspective and some case-studies will be considered. This 2-credit course is taught in full in August and September and the final “take-home” examination is set at the end of the course towards the end of September. No prior knowledge of foreign law or of a foreign language is required.

The study of the United States Constitution, stressing the theory and practice of judicial interpretation and review, the separation of federal powers, the relation of the states to the federal government, and specific powers of the federal government - in particular the tax, treaty, war and commercial powers. In addition, the course will discuss freedom of speech, takings, and contract clause issues.

This courses covers the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection and due process clauses. Specific topics include race discrimination (including school desegregation and affirmative action), gender discrimination, discrimination against gays and lesbians, voting rights, privacy (including abortion, sexual freedom, and the right to die), and property. A final exam is required.

Contracts (Staff)LWAA520

4 credit(s), Standard Letter Graded

An introduction to legal reasoning and analytical skills through an investigation of how the law enforces agreements. Included are such topics as: the requirements for the formation of a contract; problems of interpretation; damages for breach; the statute of frauds; illegality; and problems which arise during the performance stage of a contract, such as the creation and failure of express and implied conditions, excuse through impossibility or frustration of purpose, and discharge. Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code is introduced and compared with the common law of contracts.

1-3 credit(s), P/F GradedRequirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Intellectual Property (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD)

The Corporate Counsel Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component. The Corporate Counsel Internship Program allows students to receive academic credit for working in the legal department of a corporation, company or other business entity. Students may also work in other departments of a corporation as long as they are supervised by a licensed attorney. The goal of the Program is to provide students with the opportunity to observe first-hand the operations of a corporate legal department and to gain an understanding of the legal issues addressed by corporate counsel. The student must not receive monetary compensation or any outside funding for or related to the work and must be supervised by an on-site lawyer. Students can secure their own internship placements or meet with the Internship Director or Career Services for guidance. Placements qualify for the Program only if the organization requires that a student receive academic credit as a condition of the internship. Organizations willing to pay students or to have them work on a volunteer basis do not qualify for the Program. After a placement is found, students must complete an Application Form to have their placement approved for the Program. Employers who participate in the Program must commit to the requirements of the Program. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Students participate in primarily on-line class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the Corporate Counsel application. If you have any other questions contact Julie Remer, Assistant Dean, Career and Professional Development at julieremer@sandiego.edu or Professor Margaret Dalton, Faculty Director, Clinical and Placement Education at mdalton@sandiego.edu. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the JD concentrations web pages for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your work in this internship qualifies for the concentration.Additional Information:JD Concentrations Web Page, Email Law Student Affairs

3 credit(s), Standard Letter GradedConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (MSLS), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD)Prerequisite(s): Corporations

This course covers the core concepts of finance as they relate to the study and practice of law. The course is designed to accommodate both students with no background in finance as well as those with substantial knowledge of the field. It will start with basic financial literacy and will build toward more advanced topics, such as financial statement analysis, valuation of stocks and bonds, risk management, portfolio theory, derivatives, and corporate financial management. The course includes quantitative concepts and exercises, and students will be required to use a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel. This class will be of particular value to students who intend to pursue transactional legal practice, but it will also be valuable to litigators.

4 credit(s), Standard Letter GradedConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (MSLS), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD)

This course examines the structure and the rights and obligations of directors, officers, and shareholders mainly under state corporations law. Other topics include partnerships and limited liability entities. The course covers, among other subjects, the characteristics of the corporation as distinct from other forms of business association, the special problems of the closely-held corporations (a corporation owned by a few persons), the fiduciary obligations of directors and controlling shareholders in closely-held and public corporations, procedures for decision making by directors and shareholders, shareholder voting rights, and certain federal securities law subjects, such as insider trading.

Note: This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD).

Covers objectives of sentencing, plea and sentence bargaining, sentencing advocacy, sentencing alternatives, prisoner conditions, prisoners' rights, jail and prison litigation, probation and parole revocation, and extraordinary writs relating to corrections. A research paper will be required.Successful completion of the paper will fulfill the law school’s written work requirement.

Criminal Law (Staff)LWAA525

The purpose of criminal law, the development of the common law of crimes, the elements of the widely recognized criminal offenses, and the changes brought about by major statutes in connection with their effect on the present-day systems of criminal justice in the United States are explored in this course.

This course is limited to pre-trial matters, as effected by the fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments. Coverage will include arrest, search and seizure, wiretap, lineups, interrogation, and the exclusionary rules.

Note: This is a required course for the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

This course examines the type of conduct which can trigger the imposition of criminal tax charges. We will review the various Title 26 tax crimes (including tax evasion, tax perjury, failing to file, aiding and assisting), Title 18 tax crimes (including false claims, false statements and conspiracy), and Title 31 tax crimes (including currency reporting requirements). We will also review the various methods of proof used by prosecutors and also discuss the various defenses available, along with federal sentencing guidelines and related civil tax issues.

Note: This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

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